5817 Pre-Champs Recap/Preview Video

[steelerborn]

Zinc oxide will be provided for teams opposing us lol

[apm4242]

Wow, this is from a rookie team?? Yikes, our rookie year robot looked like a wooden box with wheels...

Are your students all rookies or were you formed from a previous FRC team?


...is that a carbon fiber frame?

[Chris is me]

I don't mean to take anything away from this great robot, but shining a UV light to target the high goal is a huge safety hazard. Even at low intensities, UV light can lead to skin and vision damage, and you're shining that light in a direction where opposing drive teams will be exposed to it. At the very least, make it very clear to your inspectors that you are using an ultraviolet light so they can make a proper determination of its safety.

[Poseidon5817]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I don't mean to take anything away from this great robot, but shining a UV light to target the high goal is a huge safety hazard. Even at low intensities, UV light can lead to skin and vision damage, and you're shining that light in a direction where opposing drive teams will be exposed to it. At the very least, make it very clear to your inspectors that you are using an ultraviolet light so they can make a proper determination of its safety.

We did at our last regional, and they allowed it.

[steelerborn]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I don't mean to take anything away from this great robot, but shining a UV light to target the high goal is a huge safety hazard. Even at low intensities, UV light can lead to skin and vision damage, and you're shining that light in a direction where opposing drive teams will be exposed to it. At the very least, make it very clear to your inspectors that you are using an ultraviolet light so they can make a proper determination of its safety.

At the intensity and wavelength we are running at the lights won't harm the opposing drivers. UV light gets a bad rep but it is used in a lot of applications, pretty sure there are a lot of people who go to nail salons which use UV light to dry nail polish.

The shot that we like to take (outerworks from the low bar) had issues because at our previous events there was a spotlight usually right near where we wanted to shoot, so our camera tracking wouldn't work. We could get it to work 100% on the middle goal near the middle of the field, but the bot was not designed to shoot from there. We wanted quick cycles.

We have a mentor who works in the frunit processing industry and knows a lot about UV light and vision systems that they use on fruit sizing and elimination equipment. Spotlights and other light sources don't emit much uv light at the wavelengths we are using, so the goals stand out like a sore thumb no matter what.

[Springerman]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I don't mean to take anything away from this great robot, but shining a UV light to target the high goal is a huge safety hazard. Even at low intensities, UV light can lead to skin and vision damage, and you're shining that light in a direction where opposing drive teams will be exposed to it. At the very least, make it very clear to your inspectors that you are using an ultraviolet light so they can make a proper determination of its safety.

Just to be clear this is a UV light at 400nm. It is actually violet in the visible spectrum.

[asid61]

Originally Posted by Springerman

Just to be clear this is a UV light at 400nm. It is actually violet in the visible spectrum.

To build on this a bit, the threshold for directly damaging ultraviolet light is well under 400nm. Aquarists commonly use violet LEDs in the 390-430nm range to accelerate coral growth as it hits photosynthetic and fluorescent peaks. LEDs are made to peak in a very small nanometer range, so the amount of harmful UV light is negligble.
You face more danger from household fluorescent bulbs than you do from 400nm violet LEDs.

[steelerborn]

Originally Posted by apm4242

Wow, this is from a rookie team?? Yikes, our rookie year robot looked like a wooden box with wheels...

Are your students all rookies or were you formed from a previous FRC team?

...is that a carbon fiber frame?

It is actually 18 GA Stainless steel, powder coated matte black. Our practice bot is just a standard finish.

Myself and another mentor have about 9 years in FRC each. But the students are all rookies, we didn't have help from any of our local teams. We spent the offseason on training the first group of students and they have done a fantastic job.

Anyone who wants a closer look can stop by the pit at Champs and talk to the students they are very proud of their first season

[apm4242]

Originally Posted by steelerborn

It is actually 18 GA Stainless steel, powder coated matte black. Our practice bot is just a standard finish.

Myself and another mentor have about 9 years in FRC each. But the students are all rookies, we didn't have help from any of our local teams. We spent the offseason on training the first group of students and they have done a fantastic job.

Anyone who wants a closer look can stop by the pit at Champs and talk to the students they are very proud of their first season

Wow! Well done, 5817!